Regional SA waste and resource recovery: the background report
Prepared by Rawtec for the South Australian Regional Organisation of Councils. Written by Kristian Le Gallou, Jarvis Webb and Mark Rawson. Final version 23 December 2020.
Summary published
Before regional South Australia could have a waste strategy, someone had to establish what regional South Australia was actually doing. Nobody held the numbers in one place.
Rawtec surveyed the councils. 34 of 47 responded, covering 82% of the regional population, and the report sets out what they collect, what it costs them and where the gaps are.
It fed into economic modelling by the University of South Australia and the strategy work that followed with the Legatus Group.
Regional councils responded
Collected at the kerb each year
Through transfer stations
Council staff, excluding contractors
What the survey established
The volumes, for the first time in one place
Regional councils collect 162,000 tonnes of waste and recycling at the kerb, 4,000 tonnes of hard waste, and more than 185,000 tonnes through transfer stations. Around 72 full-time equivalent council staff are involved, and the report is clear that this understates the sector because it excludes private contractors.
What it costs, as a guide
General waste disposal $60 to $90 a tonne. Comingled recycling processing $120 to $180 a tonne. Organics recycling processing $40 to $60. Concrete and bricks $60 to $90. Cardboard actually earns a rebate of $20 to $30 a tonne. All excluding the landfill levy, and all described in the report as a guide only.
The problems are mostly geography
Distance to markets, no economies of scale, transport costs, thin staff resources, contamination, and gaps in data collection. None of these are solved by trying harder at the council level.
What one region has already proved
The Fleurieu Regional Waste Authority reached 58% diversion from landfill in 2019/20. Two regional waste authorities were operating in South Australia at the time of writing.
Joint procurement is the lever with a number attached
The report puts a minimum 5% cost saving on joint procurement between neighbouring councils, alongside alternative collection frequencies, expanded organics recycling, community education, and councils keeping ownership of key infrastructure.
What it recommended
Pursue collaborative joint procurement among neighbouring councils, for at least a 5% saving.
Explore fortnightly collection frequencies for the general waste bin, which the kerbside audit evidence separately supports.
Establish regional composting partnerships rather than each council solving organics alone.
Implement mandatory data collection and reporting. The survey only reached 66% of councils, which is the problem in miniature.
Develop regional waste authorities under the Local Government Act 1999, and keep key infrastructure in council ownership.
The cost figures are a guide only, built from survey responses, assumptions and consultant experience, and they vary considerably between councils. Volume data comes from different years, and commodity markets, cardboard especially, are described as highly variable.
Related reports
Regional strategy work that builds on this baseline.
The full report includes the survey instrument, the council-level responses and the cost tables.
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